Track-lubricating apparatus



Jan. 28, 1930. w. M. GRAY TRACK LUBRCATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 1, 1928VLATOR Ju y,

A T bRNEy V Patented Jan. 28, 1930 PATENT OFFICE wAIILAcE m. GRAY, orcmcnma'rr, OHIO TRAGKJLUBRICATING APPARATUS Application filed August 1,1928. Serial No. 296,768.

My invention relates to railway track lubricating apparatus. One of itsobjects is to provide improved and reliable apparatus adapted to deliverthe lubricant to the throat of the car wheel flanges without erforatingthe rails or reducing the cross-sect on of the rails. Another object isto provide improved and reliable and relatively inexpensive meansattached to the side of the-rail to engage and deflect the car wheelflanges away from the side of the rail to permit the lubricant dischargetube to extend up along the side of the rail and discharge lubricantdirectly to the throat of the car wheel flanges, and to protect suchlubricant discharge tube from injury due to the passage of thecar wheelsand their flanges. My invention also comprises certain details of formand arrangement and combination of components, all of which will befully set forth in the description of the accompanying, drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a plan of a section of railway track .illustrating my improvedapparatusapplied thereto. r r

. Fig. 2 is a plan of a section of rail illustrating a modification ofFig. 1. v Fig. 3' is a view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating anothermodification. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail taken on line 44 ofFig. 1. Y r

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2. I

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail taken on line 66 of Fig. 3.

The accompanying drawings illustrate em- 4, the rails 15 and .16adjacent to a switch or other curve in the track 17 are designed to beprovided with apparatus adapted to apply a lubricant to the flange orflanges 18 of one or more pairs of car wheels 19 mounted upon axles 20,as they pass along the track and thereby to enable the lubricated carwheel flanges to apply lubricant to the side of the track upon theinside of the curve where the car wheel flange is crowded by inertiaagainst the side of the outer rail ofthe track in rounding a curve. Q

It is desirable that the lubricant be applied to the throat of the carwheel flanges. vIn

bodiments of my invention. In Figs. 1 and order to reliably apply thelubricant to the throat of the flange, or junction of the flange w1ththe tread of the car wheels and at the same time simplify the structureand avoid drilling, perforating or reducing the rail cross-section andthereby weakening the rails, I provide a forged bar 22 which is taperedat 1ts opposite ends and which is attached to one of the rails adjacentto a switch or a curve, for instance by electrically welding said bar 22to the inside of the rail at 23 along the exterior of the joint betweensaid bar 22 and the rail. A rib 24: along the middle portion of the bar22 is bent outwardly from the rail at the lower edge of the bar 22 belowthe path of the car wheel flanges thereby facilitating reaching theunder edge of the bar 22 where it abuts the rail to weld the lower edgeof the bar 22 as well as the upper edge of the bar 22 to the rail. Asheet metalstamping I0 or trough 25 is electro-welded to the rib 24 toform a header to receive lubricant from a pipe connection 26 and todistribute lubricant through a series of substantially verticalperforations 27 through the bar 22 into position to contact with thethroat of the car wheel flanges.

' The lubricant may be supplied intermittently through the pipe 26 underpressure by any desired type of lubricant feeding mechag0 nism. Asillustrated in Fig. 1 alubricant storage reservoir 28 is located beneaththe track- 16 and a lubricant pump is located within said storagereservoir with the upper end of the pump plunger 29 located in pos1-tion with reference to the rail 16 so that the flanges of the car wheeltraveling upon rail 16 will serve to successively depress the pump pluner 29, which is returned by a spring to there y intermittently pumplubricant from the reservoir 28 through a pipe 30to the pipe 26 througha flexible hose connection 31, which enables the pipe section 29 to moverelative to the pipe section 26 without danger of strain or fracture ofthe apparatus. The member 22 is engaged by the car wheel flanges whichare thereby deflected away from the edge of the rail a distance equal tothe thickness of the member 22, and the lubricant dis- "charge tubes orports are thus protected from injury and enable the lubricant to be discharged in position tocontact with the throat of thecar wheel flanges. I

In the modification Figs. 2 and 5, tapered metal members 32 and 33 arebuilt out by electro-welding for instance from the inside edge of the'rall 34, corresponding to the rail bricant under pressure which isdischarged fl from the upper end of the tube 36 in position to contactwith the throat of the car wheel flanges, without perforating orweakening the rail 34.

' In the modification Figs. 3 and 6, a tapered bar 41 corresponding tothe bar 22 of Fig. 1,

is either attached to or built up by electrowelding for instance againstthe inner side of the rail 42, corresponding to the rail of Fig. 1.The-bar 41 is provided with an eye 43, into which projects a lubricantdischarge tube 44 threaded into a block 45 attached by 7 bolts 46 andnuts 47 to the rail 42. Lubricant under pressure is suppliedintermittently through the pipe 48, corresponding to the pipe section 26of Fig. 1, and discharged from the upper end of the tube 44 in positionto contact with the throat of the car wheel flanges. The eye 43 servesto protect the tube 44 from injury and the bar 41 deflects the car wheelflange away from the face of the rail for that purpose.

The apparatus herein shown and described is capable of considerablemodification within the scope of the claims without departing from thespirit of my invention.

What'I claim is:

1. Track lubricating apparatus comprising in combination with the railsof a track and means to intermittentl supply lubricant for lubricatingone of t e rails, a member rigidly attached to the inner edge of one ofthe track rails and projecting inwardg therefrom in position to beengaged by the anges of passing car wheels and to deflect them inwardly,said projecting member being provided with a channel protected from theaction of the car wheel flanges and through which lubricant is adaptedto be fed upwardly into position to contact withthe throat of the carwheel flanges as they pass over said rojecting member.

2. Track lubricating apparatus comprising in combination with the railsof a track and means to supply lubricant for lubricating one of therails, a member rigidly attached to the inner edge of one of the trackrails and projecting inwardly therefrom in position to engage the flanof passing car wheels and space the car w eel flanges so engaged awayfrom the ed e of the rail, and a lubricant discharge con uit passingupwardly through said projecting member and adapted to feed lubricantinto position to contact with the throat of the car wheel flanges asthey pass said projectin member.

3. Track lu ricating apparatus comprising in combination with the railsof a track and means to supply lubricant for lubricating one of therails, a member tapered at one end and rigidly attached to the inneredge of one of the track rails and projecting inwardly therefrom inposition to engage the flanges of passing car wheels and space the carwheel anges so engaged away from the edge of the rail, and a lubricantdischarge conduit passing upwardly through said projecting member andadapted to feed lubricant intoposition to contact with the throat of thecar wheel flanges as they pass said projecting.

member.

in combination with t e rails of a track and means to supply lubricantfor lubricating one of the rails, a member rigidly attached to the railand projecting inwardly from the inner edge of one of said rails inposition to engage the flanges of passing car wheels and space the carwheel flanges so engaged away from the edge of the rail, and a lubricantdischarge port in the upper face of said projecting member adapted todischarge lubricant in position to contact with the throat of the carwheel flanges as they pass said projecting member.

5. Track lubricating apparatus comprising in combination with the railsof a track and means to supply lubricant for lubricating one of saidrails, a member tapered from an intermediate portion toward each endthereof and rigidly attached to one of the rails in position to projectinwardly from the inner edge of-the rail to which it 1s attached inposition to engage the flanges of' passing car wheels and space the carwheel flanges so engaged away from the edge of the-rail, and a lubricantdischarge port at the upper face of said projecting member in positionto dischargelubricant in positionto contact with the throat of the carwheel flanges as they pass said projecting member.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

WALLACE M. GRAY.

4. Track lubricatinglapparatus comprising I

